OAKLAND – May 17, 2005 didn't
produce the results Oakland Greens and progressives were expecting or hoping
for, but there was no stopping the celebration at Aimee Allison's campaign head
quarters that night. Ms. Allison placed only fourth (garnering 14.2 percent
of the vote) out of a field of eight candidates in the special election for
the District 2 seat on the Oakland City Council.

The Council seat was won by Patricia Kernighan who had the
backing of Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and the local Democratic Party machine.
However, Ms. Kernighan received only 28.8 percent of the vote, meaning that
she'll have to prepare her re-election campaign (an election only eight-teen
months away), in the sure knowledge that over seventy percent of the votes cast
in the special election were cast for candidates other than her. This despite
the fact that the Kernighan campaign greatly outspent all competitors and spent
approximately four times the amount of the Allison campaign.

The special election was precipitated by the resignation of
District 2 Council member Danny Wan. Mr. Wan, a Jerry Brown ally, left the Council
to pursue more lucrative endeavors. Ms. Kernighan was a top aide in Mr. Wan's
office.

The enthusiasm at the Allison campaign headquarters was no
put on or brave front. Oakland Greens, and others of the Left knew that the
Allison campaign took principled radical social change politics to a whole new
level in Oakland.

Aimee Allison burst onto Oakland's political scene seemingly
out of no where only months ago. An African American woman, 35, with a winning
smile, athletic figure, energetic manor, Ms. Allison's extremely articulate
speeches are often delivered with great passion.

Ms. Allison routinely introduced herself to constituents as
a resister to the Gulf War of 1992. She was an Army medic in a unit that was
re-deployed to Saudi Arabia. Ms. Allison refused to go and took a stand as a
conscientious objector. The Army was displeased to say the least, but after
due process gave Ms. Allison an Honorable Discharge on the grounds of conscientious
objector. Ms. Allison would conclude her introduction by pointing out how her
stand against that war while still in the Army demonstrates that she has the
character to stand up to the powers that be.

Since 1992, Ms. Allison has continued to counsel war resisters
who develop their consciousness while in the military. Gulf War resister, Stephen
Funk, who served a term in military prison for his anti-war stand, was present
at the election night party. Ms. Allison's attorney from 1992, Ann Fagan Ginger,
Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute, was also there.

Demonstrating exceptional oratorical skills, Ms. Allison often
electrified audiences with incisive analysis, by boldly speaking the truths
few politicians dare to utter, and by her obviously heartfelt commitment to
fundamental social change.

Clear class analysis, analysis of racism, of militarism, of
the prison industrial complex, of the environmental crises, and other social
change perspectives, often find there way into Ms. Allison's remarks. She can
smoothly integrate such analysis with her life experiences as a mother, teacher,
businesswoman, war resister and Black woman, in explaining her positions on
the issues.

Ms. Allison's eloquence and charisma are of no surprise to
those who know her. She used her Army grant to attend Stanford University, where
she eventually was elected Student Body President.

If Ms. Allison is the perfect Green candidate for Oakland,
she also arrived on the scene at a time when the Oakland Left, was ready to
make a qualitative leap forward.

A number of key Left forces were important in laying the foundation
which the talent-laden Allison campaign sunk its roots into. The campaign in
2004 of Wilson Riles, Jr. (who served thirteen years on the Oakland City Council),
against Mayor Jerry Brown was critical. The Riles campaign united the Oakland
Left against Jerry “Gentrification” Brown. Mr. Riles served on the
Allison campaign Steering Committee.

Oakland's resurgent Tenant's Rights movement was also a key
ingredient. Two years ago, tenants won a huge victory with the passage of a
ballot measure called “Just Cause Eviction” by Oakland voters. Ms.
Allison was the only candidate in this election who campaigned on strengthening
rent control. Both Just Cause Oakland! and the Oakland Tenants Union endorsed
Ms. Allison.

Years of perseverance and principled politics by the Oakland
Greens was also crucial. Having supported Riles' campaign against Brown to the
hilt, the Greens had already built an alliance with Riles and his supporters.
Months after that election, Riles, who until then was a lifelong Democrat out
of the progressive Ron Dellums camp, publicly switched his registration to Green.

When Aimee Allison stepped forward to run, Riles and other
veteran leaders of the Oakland Left encouraged her to meet with the Oakland
Green Party. All the ingredients came together and Ms. Allison announced that
she had changed her registration from decline to state to Green Party.

Greens from around the region lent support to Ms. Allison,
including former President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Matt Gonzalez;
former Green Party candidate for Governor of California, and recent running
mate of Ralph Nader, Peter Miguel Camejo; former Green Party candidate for U.S.
Senate and co-founder of Global Exchange, Medea Benjamen; and veteran Berkeley
City Council member Dona Spring. Greens flocked to support the Allison campaign.

Greens were able to bring important campaign skills and experience
into the Allison campaign. Ms. Allison's leadership, stands on the issues, and
ability to build a multi-racial organization, made her a unifying figure for
many Greens, progressive Democrats, independents, and even some radicals and
revolutionaries.

By election day, just months after launching, the Allison campaign
had grown dramatically and claimed to have mobilized more than three hundred
volunteers. The campaign also raised enough money to field a professional grassroots
campaign operation, with attractive literature and signs (even though much of
the staff positions appeared to be filled by volunteers).

The campaign style was to hit the bricks and campaign door
to door. Ms. Allison led the way, spending more two hundred hours walking precincts
in District 2.

Ms. Allison received two important labor endorsements. The
powerful and dynamic Oakland-based long shore union, ILWU Local 10, endorsed
her and it was the first time it ever endorsed any Green Party candidate. The
influential teachers union, OEA also endorsed Ms. Allison.

Many Left organizations supported Ms. Allison. The local Socialist
Unity Network endorsed Ms. Allison, as did constituent organizations of SUN,
locals of the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy & Socialism, International
Socialist Organization, Socialist Party, and Solidarity. SUN organized a house
party, with significant support from the ISO, to raise funds for the Allison
campaign.

In her concession speech, Ms. Allison declared, “...this
campaign is about the next generation...to say the future rests with us, the
people, and not with large developers...We see an alternative future and those
of us who believe in it know it is possible.”

“What's happening on the national level is unacceptable.
We won't accept Bush sucking resources out of our schools, our communities,
and our hospitals. Here in Oakland we're not going to accept the consequences
of the war...Martin Luther King said that the bombs dropped in Vietnam explode
in our streets – it is so true here in Oakland...and Oakland can change
and be a model,” concluded Ms. Allison.

As always, what happens next is what's most important. Ms.
Allison intimated that she is looking to run again. Will Ms. Allison continue
to bring her unique leadership to the Oakland Green Party and draw in other
leaders of her caliber? Will she and the Greens be able to continue to play
an important role in unifying and being an expression of the many grassroots
people's movements currently taking root in Oakland?